A great days birding and a look at some of the Dragonflies in Andalucia. Our guide Mick Richardson reports on one of his day tours in Granada Province. For many people Granada Province evokes thoughts of the snow capped mountains of Sierra Nevada and of course the famous historical wonder that is the Alhambra, but the province is vast and ranges from wide agricultural plains to the hills of the Alpujarras and to the Alpine screes and rocks of Spain’s highest mountains Sierra Nevada. Nature provides a feast for those who are willing to explore this beautiful area and where better to begin than with Mick Richardson…

Cold, wet, hot and sticky! Our senior guide Peter Jones gives his take on wildlfe during June for the Serranía de Ronda. Ronda and its surrounding mountains, woodlands and rivers are among the most important areas for wildlife in Andalusia. Not just a place to visit for wildlife, the Serranía is scenically stunning with the famous white villages attracting tourists from all over the world. Bonelli's Eagle and Black Wheatear as resident birds are perhaps iconic for this region, but the diversity of the birdlife will provide enduring memories to those who visit. Ibex, Mongoose, Genet and many other mammals, plus over 2000 species of plant merely serve to underline the regions importance and the many reasons why you should come visit...

Costa Rica is an all round destination, good food, great accommodation, scenically beautiful, fantastic wildlife and wonderfully friendly people. It always amazes me how varied a landscape such a small country offers and the diversity of birds reflects the great range of habitats present. If you haven’t yet been then go or at least put it on your life’s wish list! By way of relaxing before and after our main tour, we booked an extra night prior to the start and at the end of our birding tour. We used the Hotel Bougainvillea in San Jose as our start and end point. I thoroughly recommend this hotel, set within its own grounds, beautifully landscaped and with several birds and plants to interest those given to strolling through gardens at their own pace.

From Marrakech to the Sahara, from Horned Larks to Crowned Sandgrouse, our journey took us through some of the most breathtaking scenery in North Africa. The birdlife in Morocco never ceases to thrill and specialities such as Desert Sparrow always reward our adventures into the Sahara. River complexes reach out from the High Atlas Mountains to nourish otherwise arid areas and their green fingers can be traced from the advantage of the high mountain range. Lush palmeries and the well tended gardens of the wadis, all merge to create contrasting brushstrokes to the dramatic desert. Our attention is diverted only by the calls of an excited Barbary Falcon flying high and master of his homeland……